Third Time Lucky
by angelstarshine
Summary: They were friends,then enemies,but are in love with each other. The first time they kiss,she pushes him away. The second time, she says it's a mistake. Hopefully on the third, he'll get a positive reaction this time.....


**Another one-shot. I honestly don't know where this came from, I was just making a project when this came to me, and my hands refused to leave the keyboard until I finished it. I hope you like it, although I warn you, it's a bit mushy. Please review; I appreciate it, and thanks in advance!**

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing you recognize.

**Third time Lucky**

Lily Evans walked confidently along the corridor, carrying with her her Charms book, as she had just come from the Library to finish her Charms homework. Suddenly, someone blocked her path.

"Well, well, if it isn't little Miss Perfect," the voice said. She looked and a flash of anger coursed through her body. Standing before her was none other than James Potter. They had been friends a long way back, but they had a falling out a year ago, which Lily blamed him for happening and vice- versa.

"Well, well, if it isn't the idiot who thinks he's all that. Stand aside," Lily said coolly. She was not in the mood to deal with him tonight. She pushed him out of the way and was about to walk past him when he suddenly grasped her hand, causing her to jerk back.

"Nobody ever walks out on James Potter" he said, a creepy glint in his eyes.

"Guess what, Potter? I just did," Lily smirked and yanked her arm out of his grip. She made to leave but she suddenly found herself backed up against the wall, her exit blocked by James.

"James, what the hell do you think you're-----" Lily was about to say but was broken off by James's lips upon hers. The only feeling she had as they were kissing was joy; she had admitted to herself the fact that, even after a year of not being friends, Lily had fallen in love with him. But, when sanity came back, she pushed him away and walked out of the scene as fast as she could, her red face complementing her hair brilliantly.

That night, she had a restless sleep, her dreams concerning a certain messy- haired, bespectacled Gryffindor.

A week later, and Lily tried to avoid James as much as possible. What was he playing at, and why? She had often mused to herself. She couldn't answer it. All she knew was that she didn't want to talk or see James after what happened.

Sadly, and much to her displeasure, James did not grant that to happen, as he had finally cornered her in a deserted corridor on Saturday evening, as they were doing rounds. It was the same exact place where, Lily thought with some irony and disdain, they had kissed, and she found herself again in the same position she had been a week ago.

"James," she said, her eyes narrowed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

James's expression was unreadable. "We need to talk".

"James you son of a bitch , let me go now", Lily hissed.

"No" James replied. "We have to talk about what happened last week".

"Which one? About the time you acted like an arrogant jerk, or the time that you kissed me without permission?" Lily hissed.

James said, "About the time we kissed. I want to ask you if you thought it was a mistake". At once, Lily nodded her head furiously. A smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth. "Really? You thought it was a mistake? Well, if I do it again I might just be able to convince you otherwise---" And with that, he leaned in the two kissed once more. Once again, Lily was wrapped in a whirlwind of emotions, getting herself lost in a surreal dream or fantasy.

He was the one to pull away this time. "Well?" he demanded, smirking as he saw Lily blushing. "Do you still think it was a mistake?"

_No, I don't_, Lily so desperately wanted to say. Suddenly though, she remembered all the pain and emotional torture James had done to her a year ago, and she drew up her walls once more. Instead, she whispered, "Yes, it was", before turning on her heel and walking away, leaving a stunned James Potter in her wake.

It was already night, and it was raining out, a steady downpour which was getting worse by the minute. Lily was in the Gryffindor Common Room, reading a book, snuggled in one of the comfy couches by the fire. The room was quite deserted, as the people usually stayed in the Great Hall even after dinner.

Without warning, a small, first year boy came up to Lily, panting and looking extremely worried. Startled at the young boy's expression, she asked, "Jonathan, are you okay?"

Jonathan Wilde nodded his head. "Yeah, but I've got to tell you something. It's about James Potter. He's outside, in the middle of the rain!"

"So?" Lily tried to keep the hostility out of her tone. "He's at perfect liberty to be walking around in the rain----------"

"No, Lily, you don't get it," Jonathan shook his head. "He's flying his broom and the winds are dragging him closer to the Whomping Willow!"

Lily stood up so fast she threw her book down carelessly into the floor. "He's _WHAT_!" she said in disbelief. "He's _flying his broom_? In this weather! That idiot! I'll kill him!" And with that she promptly went to get her coat, which she'd thankfully placed there in the common room, and made to walk outside.

Not minding the rain, which was soaking her coat thoroughly, she strode purposely towards the Quidditch Pitch. Once there, she scanned the dark sky until she found a figure flying aimlessly around in circles, going closer and closer towards the violent tree. Seeing this, she went as close as she could.

"JAMES MICHAEL POTTER WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING! GET DOWN FROM THERE NOW, BEFORE I GET YOU DOWN MYSELF BY GETTING A BLUDGER TO KNOCK YOU OUT!" Lily yelled in her loudest voice.

James flew a bit lower, but Lily still had to look upwards for her to see him properly. "LILY GET OUT OF HERE! IT'S DANGEROUS TO BE WALKING AROUND IN THE STORM!"

"WHICH IS PRECISELY WHY I WANT YOU TO COME DOWN! YOUR VERY STUPID ACTION OF FLYING IN A THUNDERSTORM, CLOSE TO THE WHOMPING WILLOW, WILL END UP IN YOU GETTING HURT. AS HEAD GIRL OF HOGWARTS, I DEMAND THAT YOU GET DOWN FROM THERE THIS INSTANT!" Lily yelled loudly, taking off the hood of her coat so that she was splattered by the fat raindrops as well. "YOUR SCARING THE YOUNGER STUDNETS, WTH YOUR CRAZY STUNT POTTER!" she added. _"And you're scaring me,"_ she added in her mind as well.

"FOR GOODNESS SAKE, EVANS, WHY DON'T YOU JUST LEAVE ME THE HELL ALONE!" James yelled as well.

"NO! THIS IS MY LAST WARNING, JAMES. GET DOWN FROM THERE, OR I WILL TELL PROFESSOR DUIMBEDORE ABOUT YOU AND YOURE FRIEND'S SECRET!" Lily yelled as a last resort. She knew deep in her heart that she'd never tell their secret of becoming Animagi, but right now, it was all she could think of for him to get down.

Quick as a flash, James did a sharp dive and landed neatly on the ground. Once he had dismounted his broom and Lily made sure that his feet were now planted firmly on the ground, she strode over to him and………

SLAP! "YOU BLOODY IDIOT!" Lily yelled angrily, staring at the red imprint of her hand on James's cheek. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING, PULLING A STUNT LIKE THIS!"

"LILY, IT'S MY CHOCIE, JUST LEAVE ME BE! SO WHAT IF I WANT TO FLY IN THIS WEATHER? I DON'T GIVE A DAMN ABOUT WHAT MIGHT HAPPEN TO ME, I FORGOT ABOUT MYSELF A LONG TIME AGO!" James yelled back, looking equally angry.

"FOR GOODNESS' SAKE, POTTER, USE YOUR BRAIN FOR ONCE!" Lily yelled back. "YOU MAY THINK THAT IT'S FINE, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE YOUNGER STUDENTS? HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU BE SO SURE THAT THEY WONT TRY TO FOLLOW WHAT YOU JUST DID? AS HEAD BOY, YOU SHOULD BE SETTING AN EXAMPLE, JAMES, AND NOT BEING THE FIRST TO DO THESE STUPID THINGS!" She was positively seething by now.

"OH PLEASE, LILY, YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO YELL AT ME LIKE THIS! WHY DO YOU EVEN CARE SO MUCH, ANYWAY!" James yelled. The two were completely oblivious to the fact that they were now completely soaked.

_I care about you_, Lily wanted to say. But instead, she said out loud, "I CARE BECAUSE THE OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT TRY TO FOLLOW YOU BECAUSE THEY THINK THAT SINCE THE HEAD BOY'S DOING IT, IT'S ALRIGHT! YOU CORRUPTING THE OTHER STUDENTS!" Lily yelled.

"SO THAT'S WHY YOU'RE SO MAD AT ME? GOD, LILY, YOU ARE SO STUPID, YOU KNOW THAT! YOU KNOW, THE BOTH OF US, STANDING WET IN THE RAIN, AND FIGHTING IS A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME!" James retorted. "BESIDES, DON'T YOU THINK THE YOUNGER STUDENTS WOULD HAVE ENOUGH COMMON SENSE THAN TO FOLLOW A STUNT LIKE THIS?"

"YEAH, WELL, IT'S AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT STORY WHEN THE PERSON WHO IS DOING SAID STUNT HAS ABSOLUTELY NO COMMON SENSE AS WELL, NOW ISN'T IT!" Lily yelled back. "BESIDES, YOU----JAMES! JAMES! JAMES POTTER, WILL YOU LOOK ME IN THE EYE WHEN I'M YELL------" Lily suddenly stopped short when she noticed a deep gash on his left cheek. Her voice tuned down back into her normal tone, though now it was laced with worry. Any indication of the two of them being mad at each other was now completely gone. "Oh my god, James, what happened to that?"

When he didn't reply, she said even more fiercely, "James Potter, tell me what the bloody hell happened to your cheek!"

"It doesn't matter, Lily".

"Fine. Does this hurt?" Lily touched his wound with quite a sharp nail.

"OW! Damn it, you crazy woman, yes!"

"Does it still hurt if I do this?" Lily, now looking as if she enjoyed herself, slapped his face lightly, making it sting more.

Knowing that not answering would result in another shouting match, James replied, "OW! Fine, I'll tell you! I knocked myself onto a nearby tree. Simple as that".

"What?" Lily said in disbelief. "You are not only stupid, but careless as well. Come on," she took his arm and started waking, pulling him with her as much as she could. "I'm taking you to Madame Pomfrey to get that treated".

"You want to help me? Awhile ago, I was under the impression that you wanted to murder me," James said in his most amused voice.

"Well awhile ago, I was under the impression that you were well enough to be killed. If ever I do murder you, I want you to be healthy and well, so I'll relish you're pain more," Lily retorted as she dragged him to the Hospital Wing.

"What!" Lily said in disbelief upon arriving at the Hospital Wing. "You cannot be serious…….." For before her was a sign saying HOSPITAL WING CLOSED TODAY DUE TO SICKNESS OF SCHOOL NURSE.

"Now what? Look, Lily, its fine. This'll heal in no time, I'm sure," James told her, amused at how Lily was fretting about his wound more than he was.

"Will it heal fast enough for the Halloween Ball tomorrow, James?" Lily asked him, her tone dripping with sweet sarcasm. "I don't think so. Come on. Let's go back to the common room. I do not want to see that gash tomorrow at the ball".

He followed her inside the castle, and into the Head's common room. She instructed him to sit on the couch while she went inside her room. A few minutes later, she came to the common room bearing a vial of clear amber liquid and a small box.

"Don't tell me I have to drink that," James said as he looked at the vial warily. Lily didn't answer him as she took a wet cloth from the box and started to dab the wound. He flinched quite a few times as she did so. "Lils, why can't you just use magic?" he asked.

When she was finished, she out the cloth down and replied, "Oh, I will. But I still have to clean the wound, and the Muggle way is more effective. Madame Pomfrey taught me. Oh yes, what was you're first question, again?"

"Do I have to drink that?" James repeated, looking warily again at the vial with the amber colored liquid. "You know how much I don't like drinking potions for wounds".

"Of course you won't have to drink that, James,"" Lily said sweetly. James relaxed and exhaled visibly. "You'll have to drink her Charms book that she had left on the couch. She opened her door. this, instead," Lily added as she took out her wand and waved it. Instantly, a small bottle full of murky liquid appeared neatly in her hand.

He gulped. Lily handed the bottle to James, and with very obvious hesitation, he took it. Deciding it best to get it over with as soon as possible, he opened the bottle, and drank the contents in one gulp. As he swallowed, he began to gag.

"Yuck. That was disgusting!" James grimaced as he gratefully drowned the glass of water Lily had given him.

"A little lesson for you never to do that again," Lily said. "Anyway, you have to wait 3 hours before the gash is gone. That means you can't move so much. Its seven thirty, so you've got to stay there until…….10:30 pm".

She began to gather her healing supplies when suddenly James spoke, "You know what? This is probably the first civil conversation we've had in a long, long, time".

She paused in mid-action, and then said slowly, "Yeah. I guess so". After gathering all her things, she said, awkwardly, "Well, erm, goodnight, I suppose. Yes, goodnight, James". And with that she made her way to her bedroom.

Lily was just placing her book bag on her study table when she remembered her Charms book that she had left on the couch. She opened the door and went outside.

James was nowhere in sight.

..------..

She found him by the lake. There was no more rain, the grass was damp, and the night air cold. Lily cast, "Lumos!" to guide her way to him, although it wasn't really necessary. The stars and moon were bright enough.

She sat down next to him. "Didn't I tell you not to go anywhere?" she asked. He didn't reply, and they stayed in uncomfortable silence for a while.

"I'm sorry," James suddenly, startling Lily from her reverie.

"For what?"

"For disobeying you. For being a complete idiot. For not thinking. And most of all…..for ruining our friendship," he continued.

"You don't have to apologize for that, James. I had just as much fault in what happened. I should be the one saying sorry," Lily said, looking determinedly anywhere but his eyes.

"No, Lily. I mean, I just springed everything on you, I didn't even care about how you would feel. I was thinking of myself, I was being selfish".

"Well, I was too judgmental and scared. I mean, when you told me that you…..that you loved me, I was scared that you'd turn out to be like those guys who befriended girls just so they could dump them later. I didn't want that, James. I was scared, I'm sorry".

"Well, it was too bad that you never got to hear that I'd never do that," he whispered in a barely inaudible voice. The two lay in silence for awhile.

A question occurred to her. "James? Why were you flying in the rain earlier? You once told me you fly to forget. Who were you trying to forget?"

James tilted her head so that she could face him fully. "I was trying to forget about you……but…..I found it impossible to do".

"And why is that?"

"Because no matter what I try to do, or think, I still have to face the fact that I'm still madly, truly in love with you," he said, the honesty and sincerity in his tone and eyes hard to miss.

Lily took a deep breath. "Well. Since we're all doing confessions here, I have to tell you something".

"Okay".

"You remember the day we kissed for the second time, when I told you that it didn't mean anything, that you didn't mean anything to me?" she said. Her heart was in her throat now.

"Yeah?"

"Well…..if you must know……I lied. Because you mean everything to me. I love you, James". Lily said, her expression and tone very much similar to that of James.

He looked into her eyes, and took her close to him. "Well, I have to tell you something too. You remember last year, when I confessed everything to you, and that I told you that I'd love you always and forever?"

"Yeah?" Her heart was beating very fast now.

"Well, I still mean it," and with that, he swooped down and captured her lips with his own, in a kiss that would never be forgotten throughout their lives, forever.

And as they broke apart and lay there together by the lake, talking softly to each other and looking at the night sky, they thought that the stars never looked as bright and shining as they did now.


End file.
